Travis Kelce credits fiancé Taylor Swift for return to Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs received great news when Travis Kelce signed a one-year deal to return for his 14th season. They can thank Taylor Swift for that!

Kelce and Swift are engaged and both are at the top of their profession. That’s how the future Hall of Fame tight end put it when he explained how Swift pushed him to return for another season.

Not only that, Kansas City missed the playoffs following the 2024 season in which they failed at their three-peat bid in a Super Bowl LIX loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. But with a healthy Patrick Mahomes and OC Eric Bieniemy returning, Kelce feels good about the decision.

“We share the same love for what we do, and fortunately we’ve had this desire since we were kids in our selective professions,” Kelce said of Swift on The Pat McAfee Show. “It’s amazing to see her keep going to the table, keep finding new things to write about, keep finding new melodies and, on top of that, still seeing her have that love and joy in what she does.

“Of course that’s motivating. That’s motivating for anybody to see, let alone my fiancée, knowing that I’m going through something where I’m trying to figure out exactly what the future holds for me. Something like that definitely motivates me to say, ‘You know what, I’m not done, either.’ I’ve still got some ideas in the back of my mind and still got some juice left to play this game.”

While the Chiefs had a rough 2025 season, the same can’t be said for Kelce, who led the team in receptions (76), receiving yards (851), and receiving touchdowns (5). His production led to the NFL naming him to the Pro Bowl for the 11th time in his career.

The Chiefs selected Kelce in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Along with being an 11-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl champion, the former Cincinnati tight end has been named to the All-Pro Team seven times and is a member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.

“It was pretty short and brief and the Chiefs knew where I was the entire time on it,” Kelce said of his decision. “You always need to take a step back, breathe and let the emotions of the season settle down and see where the body is. Man, I’m still in love with this game. I still love going to work, putting on the pads, grinding it out and just playing the game.

“My best opportunity was playing for the Chiefs yet again and running this thing back with Pat Mahomes and Coach Reid and got my guy Eric Bieniemy back. There’s a lot of pieces in Kansas City that I just absolutely love and I can’t wait to get back in the building with them.”